10 dead, 20 injured in Iran pipeline explosion

A gas pipeline exploded in the city of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran which killed 10 people and injured more than 20. An earth-moving machine struck a local pipeline which ignited a great blaze in the area.

The director of the National Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company Mr.Ali Reza Gharibi said that the machine had lost balance in the mountainous terrain before it fell onto the pipeline. He said the injured workers were hurried to the hospital by helicopter. The firefighters were able to control the fire after almost three hours. The pipeline would be fixed within 48 hours and investigations of the incident are being done by a crisis committee.